Azerbaijan, Baku / Trend / The construction of the Turkey-Greece-Italy gas pipeline is expected to start next year and be completed by 2012, Energy Intelligence Group reports.
The ministerial-level gas pipeline accord signed on 26 July by Turkey, Greece and Italy has set up an intergovernmental coordinating committee to monitor and facilitate the development of the Turkey-Greece-Italy gas corridor.
The new corridor will be composed of three sections: Turkey's national pipe network, which will be upgraded to enable volumes of Caspian and Mid-east gas to be transported to the Greek and Italian markets; the 11.5 billion cu. m per year Turkey-Greece gas pipeline, due to begin this year; and the planned 8 Bcm/yr Interconnector Greece-Italy (IGI), backed by Italy's Edison and Depa of Greece which is due to begin in 2012.
Most of the 800 kilometer ( 500 mile) IGI pipe will be built onshore in Greece by Depa, with the remaining 200 km subsea section, landing at Otranto on Italy's southeastern heel, to be built by the Edison-Depa joint venture Poseidon. Construction is expected to start next year and finish in 2012, though no final investment decision has been taken.
Edison head Umberto Quadrino said that this accord, plus Edison's LNG re-gasification terminal at Rovigo and the proposed Galsi gas pipeline from Algeria to Italy, will increase the security of the European system and promote diversification of supply.